Superb Mario
It’s-a Me, Martinet!
Published: 3/30/2022
By: Andrew Neyer
Some mashups just work. Despite being an unlikely candidate, Charles Martinet decided to read for the role of Mario, the famous character from the Nintendo video games. His impromptu goofy take on an Italian Mario cut through and won over the hearts of Nintendo.
Martinet’s first gig voicing Mario (マリオ) was in 1990, when he would voice the character for trade shows via a computer-generated Mario head. Motion sensors were connected to his face to generate the facial movements on the screen. Nintendo was so impressed by Martinet and would use this gimmick often. He went on to bring the character of Mario to life in Super Mario 64 (Japan 1996, US 1997).
Something magical happens when we combine unlikely mediums; we increase the odds of making Art. When we play, we discover. Charles Martinet had the guts to improv a silly take on the character prompt. Nintendo had the foresight to know that Martinet should be the voice of Mario. Having a good eye and ear for the edit is a precious skill set. Our play relies on the edit.
Here are a few of Martinet’s iconic Mario sayings:
"It's-a me, Mario!"
"Here we go!"
"Let's-a go!"
"Mamma mia!"
"Yahoo!"
"Boing!"
Thoughts
– What are some of your favorite character voices?
– Does the knowledge of the voice-actor change the character?
– Did you find all 120 stars?
